advice for high power burning class 4 laser

[nightwalker]

hello fellow laser lovers. Im new to the site
i want to buy the most powerful portable burning laser with the highest output power and beam distance ..ive owned 5mW and 50mW green and red lasers before but i got bored of it so i want something new and more powerful..ive read many reviews, made research and found that wickedlasers, cni, lucklaser and survivallaser are the best laser manufacturers.I have seen the spartan, the hercules 500 and arctic s3 too. and based on my conclusion i think that the arctic s3 2W is the best burning laser and has the beam distance, also with good design and accessories..so is there something more powerful and better than the arctic s3 2W ? is wickedlasers the best manufacturer ?
i dont care about the price neither the beam color..i only want the best class 4 laser with the highest capabilities of burning and highest beam distanceand ouput power.
so plz let me know your opinions as you are more experienced than me and if u have links to guide me how to chose the best laser pointer depending on the wavelength and the ouput power etc...

 

[ZRaffleticket]

Well there's a few things to address here, but... you do know that wavelength indicates color, right? There's plenty of color options these days...

As for very high power, the laser spot will not be what you expect. Your 5 and 50mW lasers have nearly perfectly round spots correct? Well most 500mW+ diode lasers don't have that. What they have are spots that look like lines at a distance. Before you ask, yes there is a way to fix that, however it is very uncommon and will drive the cost up dramatically. Note this line expands proportionally to the distance from the laser. It's a visible line after a few feet.

Here's a small guide for colors (wavelength, spot type, max power)
405nm (violet), circular, 1W
445nm (blue), line, 3.5W
450nm (blue), (even longer) line, 5W
520nm (green), line, 1.4W
635nm (red-orange), line, 1W (4.5W+ diode is supposedly out there, but its untested)
650nm (red), line, 1W (5W diodes were out at one point, I no longer see any source for them though)

Best (diode) lasers in terms of power vs quality vs price can be bought off the forums. No getting around that.

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As for DPSS... well you seem to be only interested in lighting everything on fire, so DPSS isn't really what you want to go for.

As for wicked lasers, apparently their reputation has improved... but they're far from the best in the eyes of most here. Most being everybody registered for over a few months...

__

Also considering you seem to have done some research, you'll need appropriate laser goggles for it. Lots of light is bad for your eyes. Just... remember that before you try burning something up close or playing in a hall of mirrors or something.

 

[nightwalker]

yep i know im still a noob lolz and have too much to learn..so based on your review max wavelength and max power cannot meet in the same laser..so each wavelength has its own output power and so the burning laser doesnt have to be 2w or high wavelegth..etc..so what do u suggest for me should i go with the arctic s3 ? are there better manufacturers than wickedlasers ? i care about the burning thingy at far away distance..(sorry for my lack knowledge about laser physics)
and yep dont worry im responsible enough to hold such a device..of course safety comes first.

 

[ZRaffleticket]

Correct, because different diodes that actually make the light come in all sorts of powers and colors. (hence why you do not see any orange lasers floating around)

I wouldn't recommend wickedlasers. Look in the buy/sell/trade section of the forums for something you like, you'll do better there.

 

[nightwalker]

wickedlasers gained a Guinness world records certificate when they introduced the s3 series..doesnt that make them a high quality laser manufacturer ?:undecided:

 

[upaa27]

If you are looking for an extremely high powered (I am assuming handheld) laser you should go with something from survival lasers or just make your own. By making your own you can make something extremely powerful for much cheaper and more reliable. Also, a 5mw and 50mw is very low power and once you get past the 500mw range especially with green (around 520nm) things will get dangerous by just looking at the dot or beam. A blue or violet will usually burn better but I have to caution you that it is EXTREMELY dangerous and should not be taken as some "Hey guys check out this new super powerful laser I have! Pew Pew!" But if you really want to and know all the safety and laws around class IV lasers then by all mean go pick one up. Just be careful. :lasergun:

 

[ZRaffleticket]

If Guinness tracked handhelds with 100% accuracy, they'd be renaming the most powerful handheld laser every 2 months or so to someone here. No. Wickedlasers is not the best. I repeat. NO.

2W handheld lasers have been around since before wicked got the s3 arctics over 1W... :/

Nowadays we have access to diodes that will run at 5W, http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/3-5w-ndb7a75-445nm-laser-diode-88899.html, which if someone puts it in a handheld host it will instantly shatter wickedlaser's "record"... not to mention the older diodes could hit 3.5W... which many people here have. Though I'm not a fan of things which instantly light fires...

__

Would you rather buy something mass produced ...OR... something built with quality control on an individual basis by someone you can identify? Nobody can stop you from buying from wicked, but you would be better off not doing so...

 

[nightwalker]

alright thanks ! do u recommend wickedlasers products ? do they have good reputation ? other technology and science sites made good reviews on the arctic s3 ? is it worth it ?

 

[nightwalker]

I presume that >3W lasers are not handheld..and if they were, they are personal made (which i still have lot to learn to make one) not manufactured by companies cuz people will consider it as a toy..whatever...what do u recommend to buy from other than wickedlasers ?

 

[ZRaffleticket]

They can be made handheld. There are builders on the forum who make these and sell them regularly. Ricktrent is an example of someone on this site who sells.

I recommend buying from here -> LPF Buy/Sell/Trade section. As for companies, I do not think any chinese ones will reliably sell over 2W. Maybe survivallaser and sci-fi lasers.

I buy everything from here... whether in pieces or full units. (and CNI for exotic/rare colors, but they no longer import to the US)

 

[nightwalker]

are survivallaser manufacturer or reseller ? and btw do u know any class 3b laser with "rechargeable batteries" from any manufacturer

 

[upaa27]

are survivallaser manufacturer or reseller ? and btw do u know any class 3b laser with "rechargeable batteries" from any manufacturer

Survival lasers I believe manufactures their lasers. And yes there are a ton of batteries that can fit in a 3b laser range just look for li ions that fit into your laser with the correct voltage.

 

[Rifter]

are survivallaser manufacturer or reseller ? and btw do u know any class 3b laser with "rechargeable batteries" from any manufacturer

Survival lasers uses c6 hosts which will take 18650 and 16340 sized Lithium ion rechargeable batteries. I run my 300mw 660nm survival laser off a 18650 cell.

 

[Shakenawake]

@OP, I only read the first few posts, but if you don't understand, wavelength refers to the color, measured in nanometers, and has nothing to do with the power, in Watts and milliwatts

so, for example, a 445nm laser can be anywhere in the power range from 1-6000mW, or .001W-6W, but is still a 445nm laser.

If Guinness tracked handhelds with 100% accuracy, they'd be renaming the most powerful handheld laser every 2 months or so to someone here. No. Wickedlasers is not the best. I repeat. NO.

I was thinking, if wickedlasers still holds the record, I'll march right down to the Guinness office with my PL-E pro and BE and set a new record. though someone could easily make one (a laser with the same type of diode) hit 6W, then put their own BE on it. does the record stipulate that the laser have only a single diode or be in the visible spectrum?

 

[IsaacT]

Buy wicked if you have no regard for the amount of money you have left in your bank account post purchase. They look cool, but will cost more than they are really worth. Nothing wrong with them(anymore) but they are just not the best value. If you plan to be in this hobby awhile, trust me you will spend a lot of money. Might as well be wise about it from the get go. If you need any pointers(the advice kind, not the laser kind) then let me know via PM.

 

[Marco Polo]

yep i know im still a noob lolz and have too much to learn..so based on your review max wavelength and max power cannot meet in the same laser..so each wavelength has its own output power and so the burning laser doesnt have to be 2w or high wavelegth..etc..so what do u suggest for me should i go with the arctic s3 ? are there better manufacturers than wickedlasers ? i care about the burning thingy at far away distance..(sorry for my lack knowledge about laser physics)
and yep dont worry im responsible enough to hold such a device..of course safety comes first.

The highlighted text, minus "lolz", is the one and only thing you've said that leaves me with any hope in hell at all that you will wise up, educate yourself, and NOT buy a class IV laser before you do so.

This isn't a baseless fear - if you know nothing about laser physics, or even basic CONCEPTS, like wavelength... then why should we have any confidence that your understanding of safety, and of the MANY things that can go wrong, is any better?

How would you like some of this?

Or maybe you want to "lolz" it up and get some of this?

It's not going to be very funny if you do that to yourself or make the news for doing it to somebody else. If you learn how to avoid those situations before you get that kind of laser, you'll be better off.